empty gold
by MacabreMystic
Summary: A tale of imprinting, love, lust, revenge, and life among the wolves. Bella/Jacob
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there everyone! I'm MacabreMystic, and I'm new to the Twilight Fanfiction scene. I just wanted to give a quick forward about this story. **

**The timeline is altered from the original story to better fit the narrative of this fanfiction. In this fic, Jacob has already started phasing before Edward left Bella. Bella and Jacob were already close friends before the story begins. **

**Also, I would like to give a quick shout-out to my best friend and beta reader, LittleDarlingDahlia. Do yourselves a favor and go check out her amazing Wolf-Pack stories! **

Chapter One 

Bella's POV:

He was gone in the blink of an eye, and my heart shattered. Tears welled up in my eyes and my legs started shaking.

The man I loved, who I had sacrificed everything for—nearly my very own life—told me that this relationship isn't worth it. He didn't want to turn me, and spend the rest of eternity at my side. I wasn't enough, and I never would be.

My knees buckled, and face-first first, I fell onto the muddy forest floor. I heard a crack, and felt warm, sticky, wetness flow down over my mouth and into the earth below me—my nose was probably broken, but I couldn't feel it. I was numb.

Edward didn't love me, and he left. The rest of his family—my family—were gone with him. They didn't love me either.

It was pathetic, really. The Cullens were all the family that I had. I barely saw my father, and I didn't talk to my mom much anymore since I left Arizona—since she won't answer the phone for me anymore.

As for friends, well, I stopped hanging out with the few friends I had before Edward whisked me away. And then there was Jacob.

Out of the blue, Jacob told me to stop coming to see him, and that we couldn't be friends anymore. I don't know what I did—was it something I said? It broke my heart. Edward leaving was just the final blow.

I was without Edward, I was without my family, and I was without my best friend in the whole world.

I had nothing left to lose.

I laid perfectly still, and gave the forest silent permission to claim my life, and then my corpse as its own.

—

Sam's POV:

Hikers were disappearing and being murdered around Forks, and I knew there were leeches behind all of it. I spent weeks patrolling the woods beyond La Push—I couldn't handle knowing that innocent people were in danger.

I was running through the woods just west of Forks when a breeze blew by, and my head snapped to attention.

Blood. Human blood. I could smell it as it pooled on the forest floor and sank into the earth. The smell was quickly followed by the overwhelming stench of bleach.

_Vampire._

A snarl came tumbling out of my throat, and I ran, paws hitting the ground hard, earth flying up from underneath them as I followed the foul odor.

I burst through the tree-line and into a small clearing. I cocked my head to the side when I saw someone lying face down in the dirt. They were still breathing, conscious—reeking of despair and hopelessness. I didn't smell any venom, and I was relieved. I didn't have to take a life.

I quickly phased, slipping on the shorts I kept with me for when I became human again, and quickly made my way over to the crumpled heap of a human being.

It was a girl, probably in her late teens or early twenties. Her long, wavy brown hair covered her face. The dirt under her head was muddy with blood. I quickly scanned her for any visible injuries on the rest of her body before gently turning her over. I did a double take when I saw her face.

Bella Swan, the daughter of the chief of police—the leech-lover herself. This was the girl who Jacob never shut up about?

Leech-lover or not, I was concerned to find her in this state. Catatonic in the woods with a broken and very bloody nose.

"Bella, can you hear me?" He gave her shoulder a gentle push, trying to snap her out of whatever state she was in, "are you alright?" She opened her eyes and looked at me, and immediately I understood what Jacob saw in her.

Her chocolate brown eyes were captivating—albeit swimming with sadness. Doe-eyed and dainty. I immediately wanted to protect her. I knew that she had to be an imprint—Jacob was the only logical answer.

"He's gone," she whispered, almost inaudible to the human ear, "they're all gone." My eyebrows shot up.

"Who?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. She took a heaving breath.

"The Cullens." I blinked in surprise. That was good news, but the state this girl was in wasn't okay.

"Okay, Bella, I'm taking you home now. Where do you live?"

"Here," she whimpered, clutching the earth around her in fist-fulls. I sighed. This girl was beyond depressed—she was somewhere deeper—a place that wasn't going to be easy to pull her out from.

I gave her an incredulous look. I understood that she was sad, but this was ridiculous, and I had little to no patience for it.

"Bella, get up." She averted her gaze and her lip stuck out the tiniest bit. "Did you hear me?" Her eyes slipped back closed, and I sighed. As Alpha of my pack, I wasn't used to people not listening to me and her disobedience was getting under my skin. "I hate to give you tough love, but if you don't get up in the next two seconds I'm going to throw your ass over my shoulder and take you home whether you like it or not."

She still didn't move, so I rolled my eyes, and knelt down, got a good grip on her, and threw her tiny body over my shoulder effortlessly.

As soon as the shock of the sudden movement wore off, she began kicking and screaming like a banshee.

"NO!" She pounded her tiny fists against my back, trying to get me to let go of her, "leave me here, I have nothing left, leave me here!" I ignored her weak pleas and yelling, and began following her scent trail out of the woods, hoping it would lead me to her home.

Eventually, she went quiet and limp, the fight leaking out of her slowly but surely.

Once we exited the tree line, I saw a house with a police cruiser in the driveway, and instinctively knew this was where she lived. I brought us up the porch steps and laid her down on the bench out front, and knocked on the door. A few moments later, Charlie opened the door with a confused look on his face.

"Uley? What are you—" his query broke off when he noticed Bella lying limp and bleeding on the bench, hurrying to her side, "what—" I cut him off.

"I was out for a run in the woods, and I found her like this. She said something about the Cullen's leaving town." Charlie's face went blank.

"That boy left her in the woods like this? Did he hit her?" His brown eyes flashed with anger and fear. I cut him off.

"I don't think so. It looks like she fell." Charlie relaxed slightly, then looked back to his daughter.

"That's a relief," he murmured as he took in the blood steadily leaking down the side of Bella's face, "I need to get her to the doctor, have her nose looked at."

"I'll help you get her in the car." He nodded with a look of gratitude.

"Let me get my keys," he mumbled as he lumbered back into the house. I looked over to Bella, and I felt genuine pity and a flash of anger. What did the leech do to her, and how would I keep Jake from killing him?

Charlie came back and unlocked the car, and I sat Bella down in the front seat. Charlie thanked me.

"Do you need a ride or anything, Sam?" I shook my head no.

"I'm gonna finish up my run. Thank you though. I hope Bella feels better soon." Charlie nodded in acknowledgement, and I walked back to the woods as he drove off. I watched the cruiser drive down the lazy little street from the treeline and took a deep breath through my nose.

Bella felt like Jake's, and I had no idea how to broach the subject with him. I pondered what I should tell him as I slipped my shorts off and re-tied them around my ankle.

I made my decision as I phased back into my wolf, and ran towards home.

—

Charlie's POV:

Sam may have found her alive (thank goodness), but Bella was really bad off. She didn't respond to any questions directed at her, and barely reacted to having her nose reset and packed—only a small whimper of pain. I wasn't really sure what to do. I felt hopeless...and angry.

So many bad things were happening in the woods lately, and for Edward to bring her out there was strange. He had to know how dangerous it was out there—considering hikers were being murdered and going missing.

What did that boy do to my baby girl?

I clutched my cup of gross hospital coffee, only letting up my harsh grip when I heard the styrofoam crack.

The possibilities of what happened to my daughter were nearly endless...which is probably why they had me leave the examination room to wait while they tried to get to the bottom of what happened to my daughter.

My mind went to some dark, scary places about what could have happened to my her, but thankfully I was interrupted by the doctor clearing her throat to get my attention.

"Mr. Swan? We're finished with our examination. We didn't find any other injuries on her, so she wasn't assaulted in any way," I heaved a sigh of relief, thanking whatever deity that was in the sky for sparing my daughter physical pain or trauma, "but I'm rather concerned about her emotional state. I know grief presents itself in a variety of ways, but she seems to have shut down. She's clearly not a threat to anyone else, so I don't see why she can't go home. Please, keep a close eye on her." I nodded, thanked her, and shook her hand.

I made my way back into the examination room to get my daughter, and my heart sank when I looked at her.

Her face was bandaged, nostrils full of gauze, and she looked miserable and limp, slumped over in a wheelchair.

Not knowing what to do or say, I just straightened her out in the chair, and began wheeling her out of the hospital and to the cruiser. I loaded her up and buckled her in, shutting the door carefully and wheeling the chair back to the entrance of the hospital. I walked back to the car, hands in my pockets, extremely unsure of what to do.

I still couldn't think of what to say as I drove us home, hands clutching at the wheel so hard my knuckles were white. I wasn't very good at talking about feelings, and while I loved my daughter, we weren't as close as I wished we were. Renee took her away as an infant, and I only saw her over her summer break. I was hoping we'd finally get a chance to really bond when she came to live with me, but she was withdrawn, and she immediately got whisked up by the Cullens, and that Edward boy.

Something about him never quite sat right with me. Bella acted like he hung the moon and stars, and didn't really do much else than follow after him like a lovesick puppy. She dropped her interests and just did whatever he did, and that worried me. And now she was...this. Maybe a few days to mope would help her out?

I unclenched my hands from the wheel as soon as I pulled into the driveway, and I turned to look at my daughter. She had shrunk into herself, her head resting against the passenger-side window. She looked even smaller like this. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Bella." No reaction. It was like I said nothing at all. I shook my head, then got out of the car and managed to get her into the house without breaking my back; I'm not as young as I once was, after all.

I hauled her up the steps and got her into bed. I took her shoes off and tucked her in, unsure of what else to do. I made my way back downstairs and made her a simple ham and cheese sandwich and a bottle of water.

I brought the food and water upstairs to her room, and sat it all on her bedside table. Looking at her again made my heart hurt. This just wasn't my Bella.

She was asleep, but I could tell that it was already fitful. She twitched, eyes restless beneath her eyelids, mumbling under her breath about Edward.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. She relaxed for a moment, then resumed the mumbling and movements. I sighed, and left the room, leaving the door open and hallway light on for her, like I did when she was little and came to visit for the summer.

I was too worried to sleep, so I went downstairs to the fridge and cracked open a cold one, taking a deep drink of it before I plopped down on my easy chair, and turned on some mindless television. It was going to be a long night.

I grabbed my six pack of beer and settled into my easy chair, and turned on the game as I tried to relax.

By the time the game was nearly through, I had finished half the pack. I was opening up another can when Bella woke up screaming.

—

Jacob's POV:

I was kicked back on the couch with my dad, watching some mindless television when I heard Sam's howl from outside my house. I hesitated, not really wanting to get up. I was having a good time watching a dumb cowboys and Indians movie and making fun of the blatant racism of it, and I was tired from patrolling all day. The hikers going missing and dying had us all working overtime, trying to find the leeches responsible for it. Dad nudged me, leveling me with a no-nonsense look.

"Duty calls, son." I groaned, rolling my eyes and him and got up off of the couch, lumbering to the door. I opened it with a huff, coming face to face with a now-human Sam.

"You rang?" Sam rolled his eyes at me, and gestured for me to follow him. I furrowed my brow in confusion. Going on a walk with Sam was never a sign of good news, but I followed him into the woods-he was the Alpha after all...something I was happy not to not have to be.

We walked in silence, the only sounds being the crunching of twigs and leaves until we got to the clearing where we all typically shifted in before we went on patrol. He cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. It dawned on me that he was nervous to talk to me about whatever this was, and my confusion only grew.

"I'm gonna keep it real with you, Jake. I think Bella is your imprint." My eyes widened. I'd been crushing on Bella for a small eternity, always looking forward to the summer, when she'd come to visit Charlie and I'd get to hang out with her. When she moved up here, I was ecstatic. I was her only friend her for awhile so I had unlimited time with her. But then _Fuckward _showed up and swept her off her feet. She still made time for me, but then I phased. I was hoping to have that she would be my imprint, but Sam said it was too much of a risk to be around her, due to her leech affiliation. I had to tell her not to come here anymore. I couldn't look her in the eye when I told her she had to leave and never come back.

Hearing her cry and stumble back to her truck nearly killed me. I shook the thought from my head and looked to Sam.

"Why would you think that? I haven't seen her in months, not since you told me to tell her to stop coming here." Sam let out a huff, and looked me in the eye.

"I was on patrol, and I found her face-down and bleeding in the woods," dread filled my gut, and I felt my wolf clawing at me to let it out-to tear apart anyone who dared lay a hand on her, but Sam continued.

"She's okay, other than a broken nose. The overgrown tick dumped her, and she fell, broke her nose...I brought her to Charlie, she's safe," he trailed off for a moment, clearly choosing his words carefully, "I looked at her, and immediately wanted to protect her...like a brother would a sister, kind of how we all feel about Kim, and how how you all feel about Emily. She just...she _felt _like you. It was strange," he trailed off and wet his lips, looking down at his feet, "I'm not going to lie to you though, Jake, she's not doing well emotionally," I opened my mouth to tell him I was going to go to her, but Sam lifted a hand as if to stop me.

"I think she needs some time, Jake. She needs to heal. Give her a few days."

My wolf was whining at this point, clawing at me and demanding that we go to her, but Sam was right, she needed time—as much as I hated not going to her at all, I needed to stay away-even if I was curious to look her in the eyes and see if she really was mine, but I'd already hurt her enough.

Going to her now would only make things worse.


	2. 2

**A/N:**

**CONTENT WARNING* mentions of suicide—no action, just mention. Please read at your own risk, and if you're struggling with mental illness and are contemplating, take this as a sign and please call the Suicide National Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.**

**MOVING ON...THANK YOU all so much for the follows, likes, and reviews! It warms my heart to know that people are enjoying my writing!**

**Shoutout again to LittleDarlingDahlia, by irl bestie and beta, love you girl! Go read her stories, they're incredible—and I'm not just saying that because she's my soul sister.**

**Also, the title is a Halsey song and I clearly am not her, so props to her for the title.**

**Okay, on to the story**

Chapter Two:

Charlie's POV

One long night turned into several. A week had passed and all Bella did was lie in bed. She refused to eat, and barely drank anything. I had to force-feed her broth and water, anything to keep her from starving. She only got up once a day to drag herself to the bathroom to do her business. She didn't shower, or show any interest in personal hygiene.

In only a week, she had dropped about a dozen pounds—she was only about 100 pounds before this depressive episode, and her body was resorting to consuming her minute stores of fat.

A few more days of this, and I was going to take her to the hospital. It was becoming too much to handle on my own. I didn't have any family to help support me, and as chief of police, I couldn't stay home. I had to leave and go to work each day, and spend my lunch breaks at home, to keep an eye on her.

I even tried calling Renee for help, but she never answered the phone or returned my calls. Typical Renee--too wrapped up in herself and what's going on in her own life to bother with anyone else.

I was nearing my wits end, and I felt like a failure.

Plopping down onto my worn armchair, I rested my head in my hands, and did all I could to keep the tears from falling. I had to stay strong for Bella, she needed me, but I just didn't know what else to do with her.

I pulled out my phone and called Billy to ask about any sort of native remedies he could possibly have. Maybe they had a Shaman or a healer who could come and fix Bella?

Was that racist?

—

Jacob's POV

Patrol was over. I traded places with baby Clearwater and got dressed, trying not to think about Bella and failing. I sighed in defeat, and began the short walk back to my house. I kicked a rock along the path I was walking, watching it roll across the worn dirt path of the trail home.

The week had been hard to say the least. I didn't leave the house other than to go to school or go on patrol. I avoided the pack like the plague, not wanting to share what I was thinking or feeling. I ended up asking Sam for an Alpha Order to keep myself from sharing anything about the situation with my packmates.

I wasn't sure how much more time to give her. I hadn't heard any news about her, and she sure as hell wasn't going to come back to the Res, not after I essentially told her to fuck off. I didn't want to hurt her worse than I already had before Fuckward decided to go and leave her, along with the rest of his family.

I growled under my breath as I climbed the steps of my front porch and pushed open the door. I kicked off my shoes next to the front door, and stomped my way to the kitchen to grab some food to take back to my room. Dad was in the kitchen, sitting in his chair and holding the phone to his ear.

"Okay, Charlie...I'm as lost as you are, but I'll see if I can get a healer to come and try to help," my ears perked up at the mention of Charlie, but my heart sank when a healer was mentioned. Bella must still be bad off. My heart sank, and my wolf howled under my skin.

Dad hung up the phone, and gave me a sad, knowing look. I had told him everything Sam had said about Bella and I potentially being mates, and he knew the pain this situation caused me.

"I take it you heard the last part of that conversation," I nodded at him, and he continued, "she's not eating, barely drinking anything. She needs you, Jake. Imprint or not, you're all she has. Make amends."

I gave him a sharp nod, grabbed the keys to the Rabbit, and slipped on my shoes before running back out the front door.

—

Bella's POV

"Edward, wait, please come back!" I followed his retreating form through the trees, but my efforts were futile. He was moving so fast he was just a blur, and my human senses couldn't keep up. "Please don't leave me!"

I was hopelessly lost, but I could still hear his voice in the vastness of the woods, so I kept going, tripping and falling among the sticks and tree stumps, and low-hanging branches. Thorns sliced through my skin, and my blood spilled to the floor as I cried out in pain.

I slumped down to the cold, damp earth, wrapping my arms around myself as I sobbed out my pain and misery. Suddenly there was a snarl behind me. I turned my head and there I saw Laurent.

Dread joined the party of fear, pain, and anguish in my gut.

"Victoria is the one who wants you," he hissed, red eyes slowly dissolving into black, "but you smell so sweet, I'm going to have you for myself." I whimpered, and felt warm wetness seep through the front of my jeans—I pissed myself like a scared three year old. Hot tears of fear and shame flooded down my cheeks as he laughed, and poised himself to strike.

I woke up screaming.

—

Charlie's POV

I sighed as I finished off my second can of beer, trying my hardest to relax at least a small amount. I crushed the can, and placed it on the coffee table with the first can, and leaned back into my chair, trying to get a little comfortable as I watched the game.

I figured that a nap wouldn't be such a bad thing, considering Bella seemed to be sleeping more peacefully, so I closed my eyes, knowing that I would wake up quickly if I heard Bella cry out. I was just nodding off when I heard her scream once again.

I leapt out of my chair, and dashed for the stairs, pausing when I heard the front door slam open.

I shouted, and reached for anything I could use as a weapon, but when I saw that it was Jacob, I calmed slightly, but I was still shocked to see him here after he cut Bella off completely.

"Jacob? What are you—" he was pushing past me on the stairs, making his way upstairs, "Jacob, she's hurting, don't make it worse. You really did a number on her, too."

"I had no choice," he shouted over his shoulder as he rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, "I'm not gonna make that mistake again."

I followed him up the stairs and into my daughter's room, confused but so grateful for the help—Billy pulled through after all.

—

Jacob's POV

The door creaked open with a slight push, and there she was. She turned slightly to look at who came into her room, not quite meeting my eyes (which was frustrating because how else was I supposed to know about the imprint?), but she looked shocked.

Seeing that—and her in general—was almost like being punched in the gut,

She looked terrible. Her face was bruised, and she had deep black circles under her eyes. Those beautiful brown eyes lost their luster. Her skin was pasty, and she was gaunt—almost skeleton-like.

Her usually beautiful and tamed hair was a tangled-up rat's nest matted on top of her head. It looked somehow both brittle and dry, and wet with grease.

Her room reeked of unwashed body and grief—her usual scent of vanilla and lavender was barely there anymore. I quickly crossed the room to her, sat down on her bed, and pulled her into my arms.

"Jake," she croaked, gripping onto me with the tiny amount of strength she seemed to have left. I buried my nose in her hair, searching for her smell beyond the week of grief and uncleanliness. Hot tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Bells," I murmured, voice breaking slightly, "For pushing you away, and for..." I trailed off, not wanting to say his name for both our sakes.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did," she whispered, "please don't leave me again. I...I need you, Jake." She clung to me as if I was going to disappear. I felt her tears seep through my shirt.

"You didn't do anything Bells, I...I'll explain everything later," I rubbed her back soothingly, "I'm here, Bells, I'm here." I rocked her back and forth for a moment, and turned to look at Charlie. He looked worse for wear—like he hadn't been sleeping. "I'll take it from here." Charlie hesitated for a moment, but nodded his head.

"I'm gonna take a nap, I guess, uh...let me know if you need anything." I nodded at him and he left, his footsteps going down the hallway toward his own bedroom. I heard his mattress squeak, and immediately he started snoring. He really needed some sleep after all.

I was content to hold Bella in my arms for a little while, but I wasn't here to coddle her. Normal-Bella wasn't someone who liked being fussed over. Someone needed to kick her ass into gear—and that someone was me.

"Okay, we're getting up out of bed," I said, shushing her when she whined, "none of that. You've been in bed for a week straight, you got all the rest and self-pity you need. Oh, and you smell like ass," she squeaked in embarrassment, but then smiled a little bit at my honesty. It looked strange across her gaunt face, but it was still a smile. "Come on, up we go."

She shuffled to where her feet were hanging off the bed, and one at a time put them on the ground. On wobbly legs, she slowly stood and swayed in place before they buckled under her and I had to catch her. Quietly, she started to cry.

I sighed, got a good grip on her, and picked her up, carrying her over to the bathroom. I sat her down on the closed toilet seat, then leaned over and started the water, letting it get warm before I stopped the tub and put some body wash into the water to bubble it up. Girls liked that, didn't they?

The sound of the water filling the tub filled the small room, and I looked back at Bella. She had stopped crying, and she was looking at me blankly, still not meeting my eyes.

"Alright, Bella, time to get yourself clean," she shook her head weakly, and shut her eyes, choosing instead to try and hide like a child with the logic of 'if I can't see you, you can't see me.'

"Bella, either you strip off your dirty clothes and get in the tub yourself, or I'll do it for you. Don't test me."

I meant it, too. If she wasn't going to take care of herself, I would.

Again, she shook her head. I rolled my eyes. I understood that she was in pain, but the fact that she's choosing to let herself go like this was ridiculous. I had to fix this.

"Alright, you made your choice." I paused. I knew I needed to get her clothes off and put her in the tub, but I didn't want to scare her or give her the wrong idea. I grit my teeth and decided to start with her socks.

One by one, I peeled them off and tossed them into the hamper by the door. I took a breath, and then went to the button of her jeans. Who the hell wears jeans in bed for a week?

I popped the button, unzipped the fly, and slipped the jeans off. Due to her weight loss, it wasn't much of a struggle. They joined the socks in the hamper. Next was her shirt.

I tried not to look at her body too closely once I had her halfway naked, but it was kind of impossible at that point, considering I was going to have to be the one to bathe her.

She was skin and bones. Each one of her ribs was visible. Her metabolism was naturally fast—she could eat almost as much as I did without gaining a pound—and since she wasn't eating, her body was resorting to eating itself.

"Oh, Bells," my voice broke and a single tear slipped down my cheek, "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner..."

My heart ached. I failed as a friend. My wolf howled mournfully in my head. I sighed, and finished undressing her, not paying any attention to her naked body. I gathered her into my arms, and put her into the water, quickly tossing a large towel on top of her to preserve her modesty.

Her eyes shut, and she sank slightly into the water—clearly relaxing slightly.

I twisted the faucet off, and grabbed a clean washcloth from the cubby above the toilet. I dipped it into the bath to get it wet, and twisted the water out of it and onto her head until her thick brown locks were soaked through.

I grabbed her hairbrush off of the counter and slowly began untangling her hair, mindful to stay gentle so as not to yank her hair too hard—I learned my lesson on that one when my sisters had me brush their hair when we were little.

I hummed softly to her as I worked through the tangles and snags, and before too long her hair was smooth again. I sat the brush down and reached for the shampoo.

Suave, LavenderAlmond Oil—simple, cost-friendly...it was very Bella. I smiled to myself at her mannerisms.

I poured some shampoo onto my hands, and lathered up the suds, gently rubbing the soap into her hair. I lightly massaged her scalp, getting rid of the build up of oils and dirtiness from days of not washing it.

"Ahh," she breathed out, eyelids fluttering shut. I smiled at the reaction, happy to see Bella emerging slightly from this funk.

"See? I knew this would make you feel a little better." The corners of her mouth twitched, slowly turning into a small smile.

"Thanks, Jake," she whispered, sighing out her contentment, "I guess I needed some help to..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say, "do all of this."

Once satisfied that her hair was clean, I tilted her head back into the water and rinsed the suds out, careful to keep her nose and mouth above water. I brought her back up once the bubbles were out of her hair.

I conditioned her hair next, making sure to leave it in for a few minutes. Considering the length of my own hair, I knew how to take care of it. I rinsed her hair once again, and I was about to start washing the visible parts of her body when she surprised me by reaching over and grabbing the washcloth from my hands.

"I can d-do this part," she stuttered out, eyes darting away from me and a bright red blush rising up her body, "I, um, well, thanks for getting me to bathe..."

I was relieved to hear her voice and see her come back to life, at least a little bit. It was only a fraction of her, but it was a start.

"Good, Bells, I wasn't sure how I was going to..." I trailed off, feeling my own face heat up, "uh, I'm gonna go find you some clean clothes, so you wash up, let me know when you're done."

She nodded, and I left the bathroom, leaving the door open in case she needed me for something. I dug through her drawers, finding some pajama shorts and an oversized tee-shirt that looked comfortable.

I searched for some underwear next, feeling a little bit creepy—kind of like I was on a panty raid. I grabbed the first pair I saw, and tossed it into the bundle of clothes I laid out on her dresser.

She hadn't told me to come back in yet, so I decided to strip the sheets and blankets off of her bed. They smelled terrible, and who doesn't feel better when they have brand new sheets?

I tossed the dirty bed linens onto the floor, and searched around for some more. Bella was really organized, so I knew there had to be some spares in here. I looked in her closet and found them folded neatly on the top rack. Even the fitted sheet was folded precisely—how the hell did she do that?

I quickly remade her bed, and decided that I should probably go and check on Bella—it had been a few minutes and she still hadn't told me she was done.

I picked up the clothes I'd set out for her and went over to the bathroom, and immediately dropped them when I saw her.

She was wrapped in a dry towel, sitting at the edge of the draining tub with a razor in her hand, blade pointed down at her arm. I dashed over to her and snatched it out of her hand quickly.

"Hey!" she yelled, reaching for the razor, "what are you doing?" I did a double take at her.

"What am I doing? Keeping you from slitting your wrist!" I raised my voice back at her, "I know you're sad but you can't just kill yourself. That won't make them come back. You have to stop acting like this, Bella. It's time to come back."

—

Bella's POV

Jacob's words stung me like a papercut between my fingers, and were quickly followed by a fierce bout of anger. I was livid—sure, I was sad and clearly not taking good care of myself, but to think I was going to slit my wrists over a breakup? He knew me better than that.

I was finally ready to stop being a zombie and let him help me, but he assumed I was going to end it all?

All the rage came boiling to the surface, I opened my mouth to start screaming at him, but when I met his eyes, the words died in my throat, and the world felt like it came to a standstill.

All that existed was him.

Something in his eyes drew me in. I never noticed before just how beautiful his eyes were—dark, deep, and simmering in their intensity.

In all honesty, he himself was also beautiful. His russet skin, his beautiful long black hair, his dimpled smile, his laugh, just...everything.

And he smelled amazing—like warm salt-saturated summer air by the beach, cedar trees, and the pines of the forest.

How did I never notice any of this before?

Images of us began flashing through my brain. Dancing, swimming under the stars, sleeping on the beach at the res, tangled up in bed together in a passionate frenzy of teeth and tongue.

I saw myself snuggling up next to a giant wolf in a snowstorm—but there was no fear, just peace and acceptance.

My heart swelled in my chest as the snapshots slowed and then stopped. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding, and gasped in another breath. I could break the gaze. His expression mirrored mine. This was...something deep and unexplainable.

—

Jacob's POV

I was mentally preparing myself for whatever emotions that Bella was going to throw at me when our eyes locked, and the world stopped turning.

An electric current passed between us, and I knew immediately that I had imprinted on her—and she felt it too.

Images of us started appearing in my mind's eye—dancing at what looked like a wedding, swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night by starlight, her small body sleeping on top of mine at the res beach, making love by candlelight.

Shit was beautiful, really.

The images faded, and the world started turning again. I took a deep breath and stumbled slightly, but quickly righted myself back up. Something in me knew that Bella saw all the same images that I did—her expression mirrored mine.

Bella gasped in a heaving breath, and in true Bella fashion—fell backwards off the side of the tub where she was perched.

"Shit," I uttered under my breath as I hurried to catch her, grabbing her before her head hit the ground. I scooped her up, and carried her back into her bedroom, trying to come up with what to say about this whole situation. I have to tell her eventually, but now probably isn't the best time.

—

Bella's POV

Thank God he caught me, because that fall of mine would have resulted in a trip to the ER. He carried me into my room. He sat me down on the freshly made bed and I fell backwards, bouncing slightly with the momentum of hitting the mattress.

"What was that?" I asked out loud, somehow knowing that I wasn't the only person in the room to experience this, "and don't say 'nothing' or 'I don't know," because I know you saw it too."

Those images felt so real and so right and my love for Jake grew. I had always loved him, yes, but never romantically. I needed to know what this all meant.

"I'll...I can't explain it right now, Bells. But I will, soon." I rolled my eyes at him, clutching the towel around myself and sitting up.

"That's not fair, Jake." He put his head in his hands and sighed.

"I know it isn't fair, but this isn't the time for this conversation. I mean, you're just now coming back to life, and you're naked and wrapped in a towel. Not the time for anything like this. I promise you though, Bella, we'll talk about this when the time is right." I huffed, and clutched my towel tighter around myself, shivering at the chill of the air on my damp skin.

He stood up and walked over to the ground where he had tossed all my new clothes onto the floor and picked them up and tossed them into my lap.

"You're cold, get dressed...I won't look, I'll turn around."

I waited for him to turn around, and stood up on shaky legs. I dropped the towel and got dressed as quickly as my weakened body would allow.

I was confused over these new feelings for my best friend, and in my heart it felt real. Maybe these feelings weren't new...they felt like maybe they had been dwelling under my love-obsession with Edward this whole time.

My heart ached. It still hurt for the loss of Edward and my vampire family, and now it was wanting my best friend? This heart of mine was a selfish bastard.

"D-done," I murmured after I finished getting

The tears turned to those of sadness, and began to flow freely and without a sound.

"Shh," Jake hushed me and wiped up my tears with his thumbs, "I understand," he whispered as he pulled me to him. I shivered at his touch, and I wanted to pull away and get my thoughts together, but all I could do was clutch at him, needing him close to me.

I buried my face into the crook of his neck and bawled—guttural sobs from the deepest bowels of my soul. I knew in the back of my mind that this was the final time I would cry over heartbreak.

I cried for the loss of Edward. I truly did love him, and I knew for a fact that I always would. The lamb fell hard and fast for the lion. His loss was painful, but it was done. He left. He made his choice, and it wasn't me.

I cried because not only was my chosen family taken from me, but I had let my own slip between my fingertips like grains of sand. Charlie was the only real family I had and I'd abandoned him for people who couldn't be bothered to stick around for me.

I cried for my loss of self. I was so caught up in the world of the vampires that I had forgotten what it is to be human—and how to be a human. Looking back on it now, the Cullens had to remind me to do all things human—eat, drink, and sleep. I stopped knowing how to live for myself.

I cried for Jacob. I abandoned him for love, and he pushed me away as a result. I had been upset and angry at him, but I understood it now. I chose loving Edward over my best friend, resulting in the probable reason for our fallout...but he still came back to put the pieces of me back together after I shattered. I sobbed harder when I realized that he had to literally make me be a person again.

And lastly, I cried because of these strange new feelings in the midst of heartbreak. Something had changed in me from just a glance at Jacob—something I've done a hundred thousand times with no similar reaction—and I had no idea what to do about it.

He let me cry it out on him—uncaring that my tears were soaking his shirt. He stroked my hair as my sobs turned to whimpers, and held me tight when I slumped against him, when I had no more tears to give. I was exhausted through and through.

"I w-wasn't trying to kill myself, Jake," I mumbled against his russet skin, "I was shaving. I already finished my legs, and wanted to do my arms too...I didn't want to look like our allusive friend...the Pacific North-West Sasquatch."

It was quiet for a moment, and then Jacob started laughing—big, deep, belly laughs that brought an instant smile to my face. How had I never noticed that his laughter was such a beautiful sound? One he only saved for truly funny things. Before long, I was laughing along with him—and dear God did it feel good.

"Oh, Gods," he wheezed out, wiping away a tear from under his eye, "I found you underneath all that funk," he looked at me, warmth in his gaze, and gave me a devastatingly beautiful smile, "there's my Bells."

My eyes drooped, and he noticed. He pulled away and maneuvered me to where I was propped against the pillows, and covered me with the blanket.

"Take a nap, Bells. I'm going to make you some food, okay? I'll be right back." I have him a sleepy nod, not really caring that Jake couldn't cook anything and could possibly burn the house down. I snuggled into my clean linens, and fell asleep almost instantly.

—

Jake's POV

When I got to the kitchen and looked in the fridge, I panicked. It was nearly empty except for a case of beer, condiments, orange juice, and raw chicken that was almost passed its due date.

I didn't know how to cook—I once set a pot of water on fire trying to make the world's most simple dish: boxed mac and cheese. Ever since that incident, I usually go over to Sam and Emily's for dinner. Bless her, because Dad can't cook either, and we used to live on takeout.

Bella used to cook for us when she'd come over, and not only did Dad and I miss her for who she was, but we missed the delicious food that she used to make. She was a wizard in the kitchen.

I looked in the freezer, and thanked the gods profusely when I saw that there was some frozen TV dinners. I grabbed a pasta-dish and took it out of the packaging, following the directions and tossing it the microwave for a few minutes.

While I waited, I looked around the cabinets and grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Then I set about finding a fork.

The timer on the microwave dinged, and I grabbed the meal from it, burning the shit out of my fingers in the process.

"Fuck," I hissed, waving my hand around to try and dispel the heat. I saw a dish towel on the oven handle, and used it as a potholder, and grabbed the water, and carefully made my way back up the stairs.

Charlie was still snoring loudly. I doubted he'd be waking up anytime soon. It was a good thing I came to help when I did, because that poor man was running on fumes.

From the doorway of her room, I saw that Bella was thrashing in her sleep as if fighting someone off. Her heartbeat was erratic—scared.

I dashed into the room, sat the food down on her nightstand, and when I went to quell her, she woke up with a shriek.

"Shh, Bella, it's okay, you're with me, shh," I enveloped her in my arms and tucked her head into my neck so she could smell me better—a common calming technique between mates. I had seen it a bunch of times whenever Quil would fly off the handle at something and Leah would literally smash his face into her neck, right over their bonding mark and he would settle in seconds.

I heard her inhale, and felt her relax. Her heartbeat slowed, settling back into a normal rhythm.

"I...I keep dreaming that Laurent is trying to kill me," she murmured, holding me to her tightly, "I'm in the woods, and he tells me that V-Victoria wants me, but since she's not there he's going to devour me first."

"You're safe, Bells. He's long gone," I murmured as I kissed the top of her head, "besides, he won't be able to get you with me around." I felt her smile against my skin, and then the room echoed with the sound of her stomach rumbling. Her face went bright red.

"Okay, time to eat," surprisingly, she didn't fight the idea. She sat up against her pillows and reached her hands out for the food, which I handed to her. "Eat slow, Bella, your body probably isn't used to food right now."

She nodded, and skewered a piece of chicken on her fork, twirling a bunch of noodles onto it. She ate a bite, chewed slowly, and swallowed.

"This is freezer burnt," she said softly, taking another mouthful, "but honestly I think it's the best thing I've ever tasted." I laughed at her silliness, grateful to see her come back to life.

"I worked really hard on it, Bella. I slaved for hours over that stove." She rolled her eyes, and gave me a sauce-covered smile. I reached out and wiped her lips with my thumb, immediately bringing the sauce to my own mouth.

"Oh, this is disgusting!" She just laughed.

"Terrible," she replied, "but like I said, it's the best. This is the first solid food I've eaten in a week," she paused as she chewed another bite, "you know what? I'm done being sad. I'm done not taking care of myself. That was dumb."

"Maybe a little bit, but heartbreak is heartbreak, you know?" She shrugged, and polished off the rest of the pasta, passing me the empty plastic bowl. Her eyes began to droop again.

"Try sleeping again, Bells, I'll be here." She went to snuggle up under the covers, but hesitated.

"Join me?" I was a bit taken aback, but I nodded and took off my shoes, slipping into bed behind her. I hesitantly slung an arm around her, pulled her to where her back was against my chest, resting my head on top of hers.

—

Bella's POV

I wasn't sure what came over me in that moment, but I knew having him close to me would quell my fears...and he was really warm. My heart fluttered when he pulled me closer to him, and I smiled at the feeling of his breath running through my hair.

"Thanks, Jake," I murmured, snuggling a bit closer as my eyes drooped once again, "for everything."

"Anything for you, Bells," he replied, kissing my head once again, filling me with warmth. I closed my eyes, and Jacob started humming again, and the rumbling of his chest put me to sleep.


	3. 3

Chapter 3

A/N: ...I didn't intend for this to happen, buuuuut here you go.

I also realized that I forgot to list out everyone's ages, so here goes:

Bella, Jake, Jared, Embry, and Quil are 18

Kim and Claire are 17

Leah is 20

Paul is 23

Sam is 25

Emily is 22

Seth, Brady, and Collin are 16

As always, a special shoutout and big ol' thank you to LittleDarlingDahlia for being my beta (and my bff). If you haven't already, please go and read her wolf pack stories, they're incredible!

Happy reading!

**—**

Charlie's POV

When I finally woke up, it was light outside. I must have slept through the night. I cleared my throat and sat up, shuffling to the edge of the bed. I stood, and all of my bones seemed to pop. Was I getting that old already? I shook away the thought, and figured that since I was able to get around without any trouble, I was fine.

I looked over at the clock and nearly jumped out of my skin. It was 11 in the morning, and I was a couple of hours late! I scrambled to get ready, nearly tripping in my haste to get to work. I finished dressing, brushed my hair and teeth, and went to check in on Bella before I left.

It was quiet, which I took as a good sign—she must be asleep. I opened the door to her room slowly, mindful of the creak, and poked my head in. It no longer smelled bad in there, so I assumed Jacob must have gotten her to bathe and change her sheets. I looked over to the bed.

Not only was she passed out cold, but she was wrapped up in the sheets with Jacob. I could clearly see that their clothes were on, which I was thankful for, but it was still a bit of a shock. But, I couldn't even get upset with a man being in my daughter's bed, considering he was probably the reason she was sleeping so well. And he gave me a break...plus he was a good kid.

I glanced over at the nightstand and saw an empty TV dinner dish and an empty glass of water. He got her to eat, too! I heaved a sigh of relief, thankful for Bella's renewed interest in her health.

At the sound of my sigh, Jacob shot up quickly, disoriented before he noticed it was me standing there.

"Oh, oh my god, Mr. Swan, hi, this really isn't what it looks like," he stammered, fumbling up and out of the bed. Bella rolled over at the sudden movement, but didn't wake up. She chose instead to snuggle into the warm spot he had left behind with a soft snore.

I couldn't help but chuckle at Jacob's reaction and at my daughter snoring.

"Calm down, I'm not mad. I mean, seeing a man in my daughter's bed was kinda odd, but you got her to sleep. And eat. And bathe. And let me sleep...I can't be upset." His eyebrows shot up at my lack of anger, and he gave me a sheepish smile.

"I thought that I was two seconds from needing to jump out her window," we both laughed a little bit, and then it got quiet—not the most comfortable kind.

"Well, uh, I'm late for work. Thanks for…" I searched for the right words, "fixing her."

"No problem Mr. S.," he replied, running a hand through his long hair sheepishly, "uh, have a good day?"

I nodded, and left the room, jogged down the steps, and out to my cruiser. Good thing I was the chief now, not a rookie, I'd have been in a whole lot of trouble if that were the case.

—

Jacob's POV

The whole situation with Bella's dad walking into the room to find me in bed with his daughter was awkward, but it didn't do anything to quell the tiredness I felt.

I stretched, and looked at the clock on my phone. Almost noon. I had a few text messages from the pack group chat, and a missed call and voicemail from my Dad. I shrugged and put the phone back down. I'd worry about it later.

I went to the restroom and did my business, and debated on seeing if I could scrounge up any food while I washed my hands. I was really hungry at this point, I hadn't eaten the night before or this morning.

The tiredness I was feeling won out over hunger, and I climbed back into bed, pushing Bella off of my spot and then pulling her back to me when I was settled. Then I was out like a light.

—

Bella's POV

"Mmm," I grumbled as I opened my eyes to the bright afternoon sunshine streaming in through my window. I tried to sit up, but I realized my limbs were intertwined with Jacob's.

It was nice, being tangled up with him. He was extremely warm on my ice-cold skin, and it would be nice to bask in that warmth for a little while longer, but I had been in bed for a week already. It was time to get up. There was probably a lot to do around the house, and knowing my father, the fridge probably only had beer and maybe some cheese in it.

"Jake," I croaked out, disentangling myself and pushing at his heavy arm, which was draped over my side, "Jake!" He groaned, swatting at my pushing hands.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled, trying to wrap his arms back around me again.

"No! It's…" I fished around for my phone that was on my windowsill. It was almost dead. "It's 2:30, we need to get up."

Jake grumbled again, but let me go, and stood up with a yawn and a stretch—a good portion of his skin was exposed when his arms went up over his head, and I noticed that he was cut. Abs for days, and a deep V ...yummy.

I shut down that thought and averted my gaze immediately. I didn't want to gawk or give him the wrong idea. I could feel my cheeks heat up with their signature blush, and I all but fell out of bed in my hurry to get away.

"B-bathroom," I stuttered as I dashed to the bathroom on my weak legs. I mean, I did really have to pee. I shut the door quickly and let out a sigh.

As I did my business, I reminded myself that even though Jake and I had that weird moment yesterday, and something in our dynamic had definitely shifted, we were still strictly best friends. I was in no position to jeopardize this friendship or open my heart up to anyone. I was still healing.

I flushed, washed my hands, brushed my teeth and washed my face. My breath was now minty fresh and no longer smelled like death, which was a nice step forward from a week's worth of negligence. How did Jake even stand being around me?

Speaking of smelly…

I looked over to my hamper, stuffed full of linens and clothing that smelled like crap. Yeah, this was all too much. Time for a fresh start.

I grabbed a hair tie from the medicine cabinet, and piled my hair on top of my head in a messy bun. I dragged the hamper out of the bathroom, and Jake took one look at me and understood.

"Bella means business. Okay. Let me help you get that to the laundry room." He picked up the basket effortlessly and carried it out of the room. While he was transporting the clothes, I made the bed and arranged my pillows exactly how I liked them. It was funny—they were insignificant little sacks of fluff, but I felt like I just won a prize with how good it was to do something so mundane.

Once I was satisfied with the bed, I plugged in my phone, and cleared off my nightstand of cups, bottles of water, and the empty dish from the disgustingly delicious TV dinner from last night.

I grabbed the dishes and trash, then made my way slowly but surely downstairs, careful not to trip and fall. Eventually, I made it down to the first floor and headed to the kitchen, where I found Jacob looking through the cabinets—knowing him, he was probably scrounging for food.

"Hungry?" I asked him, and he nodded dramatically.

"Starving," he replied. His stomach roared out it's emptiness, as if acknowledging Jacob's statement.

"I assume there's nothing in the fridge?"

"Nope." I frowned. What was Charlie surviving on? Probably takeout. I added grocery shopping to my 'to-do' list. I was hesitant to leave the house, though, considering that people no doubt knew that Edward dumped me and left town, and I didn't want any pity. I had a pity party already, and I didn't want to have another one.

"There's some protein bars in the cabinet to your left. We can snack on those, I guess…"

He grabbed a few out of the cabinet, two for both of us. It would only cover a small fraction of the hunger, but it was better than nothing.

I knew I couldn't ignore the fact that we needed food in the house, but it I went to run errands, Jake would probably leave, and I really didn't want to say goodbye to him anytime soon. I needed him. I don't know why, but the thought of not being close to him was nearly painful. I assumed it was just my broken heart, and the fact that we had only just made up.

"Um...well, I guess I should go get some groceries then?"

"Yeah, let's go. We have to take your truck though, I drove the rabbit and I don't think we can lug groceries back like that." I smiled—it was like he had read my mind. He wasn't going to leave me. I smiled, and he gave me a dimpled grin in return.

That smile was just...so cute, and I could feel the infamous Swan blush spread across my skin.

"Uh, I'm gonna go start the wash," I mumbled, dashing out of the kitchen to get away from this situation.

I didn't know what was going on in my head. I should be mourning the loss of my relationship with Edward, with my vampire family...that would be the normal way to do things, but here I was fixating on my best friend who I had just made up with the day before.

And that moment we shared in the bathroom...that was something abnormal—Jake even said that it meant something, but he couldn't tell me.

This whole thing sounded oddly familiar and it was frustrating.

I stuffed clothes and linens into the washer with frustration, eyebrows furrowed as I threw in a detergent pod and started up the machine.

I wished Jake would just tell me what this all meant so I could stop overthinking it.

—

Jacob's POV

If I didn't already know she was feeling the effects of the imprint, I would have definitely known after she dashed away from me with that blush of hers. I wished that she didn't run away, that shade of red had always been one of my favorite colors.

I shrugged to myself, and made my way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to grab my stuff out of Bella's room. Walking into the room made me smile. Bella must be feeling better—the room was absolutely spotless.

I grabbed my things and put on my shoes, heading back down the stairs to find Bella in the kitchen, climbing up on the counter to reach the top cabinets. I would never get over how tiny she was—it was so cute.

I slouched down so I could lean against the doorframe and watch her struggle for a bit before jumping in to help. It was so nice to see her up and around, doing things for herself. Plus...it wasn't that bad of a view. Her ass looked great in those leggings—even if she was too thin.

She didn't seem to be exerting herself too much, which was a good thing—she was already stronger after one night. She pulled herself up, getting her footing as she stood up on the counter. Her tiny hands rested against the fridge to keep her balance. For someone so clumsy, her movements were so graceful. Once I knew she wouldn't fall, I cleared my throat. She startled, putting a hand over her heart. I laughed, and she shot me a glare.

"Jesus Christ, Jake, you scared the shit out of me!" I just laughed at her exasperated expression.

"Still climbing counters when a 6'7" Indian is in your house and willing to help?" She cracked a smile, and let out a small laugh. "What are you even doing up there?"

"Charlie keeps money up here for me, in case I need anything or want to go get some groceries. This is how I always get to it." She opened the cabinet above the fridge and grabbed a jar that was full of loose change and cash. "Uh, can you help me down, please?"

I crossed the kitchen in three long strides, and gripped her by the waist. My hands nearly wrapped all the way around her—so small, so easy to maneuver, and oh so beautiful.

I looked up at her, locking eyes with her again. Her eyes were alive again—swirling chocolate orbs. They were pulling me in. I wanted to kiss her more than I ever had before.

I let go of her with one hand, and grabbed the jar of change out of her hands and sat it down on the counter. I put my hand back on her waist and effortlessly picked her up, and arranged her to where she was sitting on the counter in front of me. I took a moment to look her over again.

Her skin was flushed pink as she looked right back at me just as intently, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Locks of hair that fell from her bun framed her face, and she looked so, so beautiful.

As if on their own accord, my hands slid up her body and gently cupped her face in my hands, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. Her breath hitched, and her small hands settled over my large ones.

"Bells," I breathed, pressing my forehead to hers, "beautiful Bells," her eyes slipped shut, and her lips parted slightly with a soft, breathy sigh that I breathed in. Everything about her was perfect. It always had been. I've always wanted her. Maybe a part of me always knew that she was mine.

I couldn't wait any longer. I gently tilted her head and brought her lips to mine. She tasted like pure vanilla. The pull that I felt with her as my imprint strengthened tenfold, and my wolf howled happily inside of me, pleased at the physical contact of my mate.

—

Bella's POV

It was so soon to be doing this, and logically I knew that, but my heart and hormones were in full control. His kiss was electrifying. I once thought that Edward's kisses were enough, but this was like being set on fire, then thrown into a volcano, and I wanted more.

I slid my hands into his long, silky hair, tangling it between my fingers as I spread my legs so I could get him closer to me. He grabbed me by the hips and yanked me to him. He was so big and I was so small that he could maneuver me however he wanted me, and it was sexy. A moan escaped from me, and Jake growled in approval.

That growl sent a shudder through my body. I felt my panties dampen, and my pussy clenched down on nothing. I wanted him.

He licked at the seam of my lips and I parted them for him immediately, obeying him without question. He slipped his tongue into my mouth, mapping it out with precision and purpose—almost like he was memorizing me. I realized that I was trying to memorize every angle of him too.

He withdrew his tongue and kissed my mouth, then the very corner of my lips, then began a trip to the hallow under my ear. He sucked the lobe into his mouth and gave it a gentle bite, making me arch against him.

"Oh, Bella," he breathed into my ear, clutching me even tighter to him, "wanted this for so long." Desire flared up in my lower belly. I didn't just want him—I needed him. He was so eager, so tender, and he treated me with such admiration that it almost hurt. All that mattered to me in that moment was that I have him. I wrapped my legs around him, locking my ankles behind him.

"Jake, please," I murmured, "please."

—

Jacob's POV

My name dripping from her lips was the prettiest sound I have ever heard. It brought a possessive growl rumbling up my throat.

And oh Spirits—I could smell her arousal. Her sweet slick smelled like pure vanilla, and my wolf wanted to taste that treat...it did belong to me, after all.

"Okay, okay," I murmured, trailing my lips back to her sweet lips. I bit down on her lower lip, and she keened, arching against me. The heat of her womanhood pressed against my crotch, and a deep moan escaped me. All I could think about was having her.

Her hands left my hair and traveled down my arms to my chest, and she raked her little fingers down my pecs. She slipped them under the lapels of my jacket, and pushed the fabric off of my shoulders. I really liked where this was going.

I shrugged off the fabric, letting it fall to the floor, and kissed down her neck, gently nipping at the flesh. My wolf was suggesting that I mark her, make her more mine than she already was, but I couldn't do that without letting her know the significance of the action...and for that she needed to know that the legends I had once told her were true.

I settled for pulling her skin into my mouth and sucking marks onto her milky skin. The lavender that was part of her natural scent was strongest by her pulse point, and I was inhaling deeply as I temporarily marked her.

She was moaning under my ministrations, and I swelled up with pride knowing that I was pulling this reaction from her. Slowly, her hips started moving and grinding into mine, and she groaned when she felt how hard I was for her. She pulled at my shirt, hinting that she wanted it off. I reluctantly let go of her to shrug it off—it was too hot anyways.

"Jake, I want you, bedroom, please," she gasped out, clinging to me again. Who was I to deny her? I scooped her up effortlessly, moving quickly up the stairs and into her room. I held her close to me and fell backwards onto her bed, laughing as we bounced on the mattress a few times. Her laugh joined mine, her brown eyes warm and happy. She looked alive again.

She climbed on top of me, and leaned back down to kiss me. I reached up and took the hair tie out of her hair, letting her beautiful brown locks free around us. I gripped at her hips and ground her down onto me to feel her against me. I wasn't sure how much longer I would be able to hold off. I needed her naked, and to make sure she was ready for me.

I slid my hands under her shirt, shivering at the feel of her smooth skin—even if it was pulled too tight over her bones due to weight loss. Quickly, I yanked the fabric up over her head, and literally ripped her soft sports bra off of her to get to those tits of hers. She gasped at the suddenness of the action.

Her tits were absolute perfection—two handfuls of pale flesh, topped off with nipples that were the prettiest shade of pink that I had ever seen. I couldn't help but reach up and grab at them, rolling the nubs beneath my fingers. She whined low in her throat, and I felt wetness seep through the front of my jeans.

I looked down, and her little cotton shorts were clearly wet with her desire, and I was overwhelmed with the need to taste her sweet cream. I flipped us over quickly with a growl, and began yanking at her shorts.

"Gotta taste you, baby," I growled out as I pulled the fabric down along with her panties, as she whimpered at my words. Slowly but surely, my treasure was revealed—a pretty pink pussy glistening with her juices. I growled, and flattened myself down onto my stomach, getting myself face to face with her gorgeous cunt. I blew on it gently, chuckling low in my throat when she shivered.

"Please, Jake, don't tease," she whined, and I gave her a devilish grin. In the blink of an eye, I had her legs over my shoulders and I sat up to where her pussy was level with my face, and gave it a single lick.

I almost blew my load at the taste—Vanilla buttercream frosting, just like the kind my mom used to make before she passed—it was my favorite thing in the world, and I never thought I would ever taste it again.

"F-fuck, I never thought that would be so g-good," she groaned, struggling to get the words out. My ears perked up at that.

"First time?" My voice sounded foreign to me—so deep and full of desire. I'd eaten a girl out before, and done some fingering before, but I'd never fucked before, and I was glad I still had that to give to her. My hackles raised at the thought that I might not be the first to have her, but I knew she'd be mine after I claimed her.

Her blush intensified, and she nodded. My wolf was absolutely pleased at knowing the Cold One hadn't beaten me to this. I gave her a wolfish grin, which widened when she shivered.

I dove back in with gusto, lapping up her juices, and sucking her clit into my mouth. She moaned, high pitched and wanting, arching her hips into my face. I slid a finger inside of her, amazed at how easy it was to slip a finger in despite how tight she was.

I pumped my finger in and out slowly while I lapped at her clit, reveling in every moan and sigh that left her lips. I wanted to see her fall apart on my tongue and fingers...really get her ready for me because little Jacob wasn't exactly small, and she was so tiny. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

When I deemed her loose enough, I added another finger, and sped up my movements. She was shaking, crying out every time my tongue flicked her sensitive nub. My free hand snaked up her body, and plucked at her nipple, moaning at the sharp sound she let out in response.

"Oh, Jacob, I'm going to, fuck—" I sucked her clit into my mouth and bit down gently, and she came with a scream. Her walls fluttered around my fingers, and her juices leaked out around my fingers. I lapped up every drop Bella gave me as she came down from her high. Her eyes opened up slowly, and she gave me the sexiest half-lidded look I had ever seen in my life.

"Your turn."

—

Bella's POV

That amazingly intense orgasm brought out a part of me that I didn't even know existed. I felt bold, and really sexy for the first time in my life.

I was feverish—my body was thrumming with need that I had never felt before in my life. If it wasn't sated, I didn't know what would happen to me. Something about Jake was settling me aflame. I wanted him.

I pushed him up and off of me to where he was sitting up on his knees, and immediately got to work on sliding his sweats off of him to get to his cock. I'd never done anything like this before, but my body was telling me to unwrap him and get my hands on him. He helped me push down his sweats, and his dick sprang free. I couldn't help but gasp.

It was long and thick, dark with his arousal, and all around big. I had no idea how that was going to fit inside of me, my mouth or body. I felt my blush intensify, and I looked up at him under my lashes. He was giving me a cocky grin, his dimples on full display.

"Like what you see?" His voice was deep and grumbly, and my pussy clenched at the sound of it. Instead of answering him, I wrapped my hand around the base of his thick shaft. The sound he let out sent goosebumps all over my body. It was just so manly.

Holy shit, my hand didn't even fit all the way around his cock. The thought should have been jarring, but my instincts told me that I could take it.

I rose up onto my knees and stretched until I was level with his face. I'm not sure what drove me to do it, but I licked a stripe from his bottom lip to the top of his nose before crashing our lips together once again.

He growled, thrusting shallowly into my hand as he took possession of the kiss. He dominated my mouth, biting, licking, and suckling on my tongue. I had no choice other than to just take it, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

He didn't treat me like I was made of fragile porcelain. To Jake, I was a rag doll that he could (and would) position however he liked. Submission wasn't even a debatable position, and I was eating it up.

I realized in the fog of desire that it probably wasn't comfortable to be thrusting into a dry hand, so I let go of him and swiped my hand through my drenched folds, gathering my wetness before returning my hand to him.

Once he realized what I was doing, he growled his approval low in his throat, and that sound had my juices smearing down my thighs. He bit down on my lower lip harshly before pulling away abruptly.

"Birth control? Condom?" He asked, quickly arranging me to where I was lying on the mattress beneath him.

"I have an IUD. You don't need a condom," I replied, spreading my legs apart for him.

"Oh thank spirits," he hissed, shucking off his pants and literally throwing them across the room. He gripped his dick, and slid it through my folds to get it wet, flicking the head over my swollen clit. He then positioned himself at my entrance, and paused. "Bells, are you sure?"

I reached down and grabbed the base of his cock again, and pushed him inside of me, too far gone for words.

—

Jacob's POV

She pushed the head of my cock into her tightness, and dear spirits, if only the tip felt this good, I wondered how the rest of me would feel inside of her.

I had to remind my caveman (or wolf) brain that I needed to go slow—neither of us had done this before. I didn't want to hurt her, and I didn't want to blow my load in the first couple of seconds. I took a deep breath in, and slid myself in to her inch by inch until I felt resistance and I paused, looking down at her.

She was propped up on her elbows, looking down on where we were joined. She must have felt me looking at her, and she looked up at me from under her eyelashes with a pout.

"I don't remember telling you to stop." I couldn't help but laugh at her cheekiness.

"Alright then, bossy," I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose, and pushed the rest of the way in. Oh, spirits, she felt incredible. I would never get tired of this. My wolf was growling, telling me to take take take. I settled with moving my hips in small motions, waiting to see if she wanted me to really start moving or to keep waiting.

"More, please," she said, breathlessly, "I need you." I gripped her tiny hips and started moving. She felt like warm, wet silk around my cock, and I sincerely believed that this had to be heaven.

"O-oh," she groaned, lowering herself back down to the mattress and gripping my shoulders for balance, "Jake, ah, fuck." The way my name fell off of her lips made my dick impossibly harder—what wouldn't I do to hear it every day for eternity?

"Ah, fuck me, Bells, you feel so good," I groaned out, picking up the pace slightly. I gripped her thigh with my right hand and positioned her leg over my shoulder, wanting to be able to see where we were joined.

She was so fucking wet that I was practically gliding. My dick was shiny with her juices, and it was intense to watch my hardness disappear into her over and over again. She was sweaty, mewling mess, clawing at my back.

"Jake, Jake, ah, Jake," she moaned my name, and it almost sounded like a prayer. I pumped into her harder, putting her leg back down and growling at the tighter feel. My thrusts were sliding her little body further up the bed, her head close to bumping into the headboard.

I slid my arm behind her head so that she wouldn't get a concussion from how hard I was fucking her, and slid my other hand down her body, finding her clit and rolling it under the pad of my finger. Her moans grew louder, and she looked up at me with wide, desperate eyes.

My wolf rose to the surface, and started demanding that I mark my territory. This woman was mine, and everyone needed to know it.

—

Bella's POV

My eyes slipped shut as I tried to process all of the new feelings coursing through my body. It was almost too good. He was hitting spots inside of me that I didn't even know existed. His dick inside of me, the sounds he was making, and his finger rubbing circles with my clit were sending me to the edge quickly. I opened my eyes, wanting to see if he was close too.

His eyes looked as if they were almost glowing, and I took that as a sign that he was as close as I was. My eyes started to slip shut, and my mouth fell open, and then it all stopped.

"Huh?"

He pulled out of me, and before I could ask what was wrong he flipped me over to where I was on my hands and knees,

"Grab the headboard." There was no questioning his authority, I was compelled to do as he asked. I gripped onto the headboard with both hands, and then he was right back inside of me, going harder than he had been before. It was rough, hard, possessive—I was holding onto the headboard for dear life.

"Mine," he snarled, gripping my hips so hard that I knew they were going to bruise, "you're mine." I felt myself getting close to the edge again when he said that, and a strange feeling of belonging and submission flooded over me. I felt him brush my hair over my shoulder and out of the way. As soon as it was out of the way, I bared my throat to him. "MINE!"

He bit down where my neck met my shoulder—hard—and I came with a scream. He followed suit, filling me to the brim with his release.

Jake released my throat, gave three more sharp thrusts, and withdrew from me. He flipped us to where I was lying on his chest. I moaned in content, snuggling into his chest and started to doze when I felt his tongue on my throat, lapping at where he had bitten me.

"Mine," he murmured, nuzzling at my now damp skin, "my mate." I quickly sat up, unsure as to what he meant.

"Um, what?" It suddenly dawned on me that I just had sex with my best friend on my childhood bed, a week after a bad breakup. I quickly got up and off of him, dashing to the bathroom, ignoring his concerned voice asking me what was wrong.

I slammed the door behind me, and leaned over the sink, my stomach turning wildly. I turned the tap, and splashed water onto my face. I looked up into the mirror as I reached for my hand towel.

On the side of my neck was a deep, dark bite mark, scanned over and looking like it was already halfway healed. A trail of dried blood went from the mark and down my chest. I barely made it to the toilet before throwing up the little that I had left in my stomach.

My mind was racing as to what all of this meant, and it brought me back to a few key moments.

His eyes were glowing. His voice wasn't his own. He was possessive, and he bit me hard enough to draw blood. Then he called me his mate. I wiped off my mouth and flushed the toilet, then stumbled back over to the sink to rinse my mouth out. The door opened behind me, and a sense of fear filled my gut when I saw Jake behind me in the mirror. I shivered, and gathered all of my courage.

"J-Jake...what the FUCK is going on?"


	4. 4

Chapter 4

Jacob's POV:

_Fuck. _

I marked her without telling her the significance. I hadn't even told her that the legends of my tribe were true. I never told her what I was. I let the wolf take over. I should have told her.

But I didn't… and I couldn't say that I regretted it. My mark belonged on her, she was mine, it was just poor timing.

She cowered when I came into the bathroom behind her. The room smelled of fear and vomit—not a good combination. My inner wolf was starting to whine again. She wasn't taking this well—she was afraid of me. It felt like rejection. My heart sank.

Her big brown eyes were wide with fear and fury. I knew she was looking for the correct words to say to me. It took her a moment, but she eventually found words.

"J-Jake...what the FUCK is going on?" I swallowed thickly, and cleared my throat. Time to tell the truth.

"There's a lot that I need to tell you," I replied as calmly as I could manage, "I'm sorry if I hurt you—" she cut me off with a flabbergasted gasp.

"You're sorry _if _you hurt me? Jake, my neck looks like it was gnawed on by a wild animal! You drew blood! I have to know what happened last night—this has something to do with it, I just know it," she closed the toilet lid and sat down, putting her head in her hands, "this is fucking crazy, even for me...Jesus Christ why can't I attract normal men? What did you do to me?"

My wolf was growling now, not taking too kindly to being compared to her ex-leech.

"Bells, I'm sorry, okay? I'll explain everything when I mcan—" she cut me off immediately.

"Fuck that, Jacob Black. You owe me an explanation _now._ This clearly means something big," she looked up at me with a steely gaze, "you're not human, are you?" I was taken aback, eyes wide. She really was a smart girl.

I took a deep breath, and pulled out my cell phone, selecting Sam's number quickly. She tried to ask what I was doing, but I held up a finger and silently told her to hold on. She did, but with an annoyed look on her face. He answered on the third ring.

"_I take it she has questions," _Sam began, already knowing what I was going to say without me even verbalizing it, "_I'll call a meeting at my place." _

"Okay. Make sure Kim comes along. She and Emily will be able to answer the questions that we can't...and please tell me that Emily is going to feed us." Sam huffed out a laugh on the other end of the line.

"_When does she ever _not _feed you? See you soon." _

I pressed the end call button, and put my phone away, looking back to Bella.

"Okay. We're going to La Push. We have a lot to talk about," I gave her a once-over, admiring her naked body, and growled low in my throat when I noticed her thighs were glistening with our combined release, "and as much as I like to see you naked and covered in me, we need to get cleaned up and…"

I trailed off as a surge of electricity jolted between us, and _need _for her, for _mate _filled me.

As a protector, we are required to read the journals of those before us, and I instantly remembered reading that newly mated couples—the pull of the imprint was always strong, but in the beginning, frequent sex was expected...and apparently our bond was no different.

I knew Sam was expecting us, but I was under the control of my wolf, and he wanted our _mate. _Alpha would have to wait.

She reached out for me when I went to pick her up, clearly under the influence of the imprint as well, and I nuzzled against the mark I left on her throat, lapping away at the blood that was left behind and pressing kisses to her sweet skin. I could smell her arousal, and the desperate little moans she was making had me hard again in seconds. I needed to be back inside of her as much as I needed to breathe.

I sat her down on the vanity, and she spread her legs for me so sweetly. She grabbed my hardness with her small hand, and led me to her entrance, and bared her throat to me once again.

My wolf practically roared, and immediately I buried my face into the side of her neck, trying to find the best place to bite next.

We both cried out when I plunged into her, immediately setting a brutal pace. I wasn't worried about hurting her—my wolf knew she was made for me.

"Jake," she whined out, meeting me with an arch of her hips with each thrust, "f-fuck, why…" she trailed off with a keening moan, "why do I need y-you so bad?" I had no idea how she had enough brainpower to be talking right now, but it was very Bella, and therefore very endearing. However, I was beyond answers.

"Later," I growled out against her throat as I started pushing harder, "just take it baby."

—

Bella's POV

The way he told me to _just take it _was the sexiest thing I've ever heard, and I somehow got even wetter than I already was. I locked my arms around his neck, and held on for dear life. His dick was hitting my sweet spot over and over again with excellent precision, and it felt so good that I was nearly sobbing.

He grabbed my leg, and put it over his shoulder so that he could push even deeper, which I didn't even think was possible, considering his size.

"Fuck, so tight," he grunted out, resting his forehead against mine, "oh, Bells," he brought his hand down to rub at my throbbing clit, "cum for me, wanna feel you fall apart on my cock," I could feel my orgasm start to coil in my belly, and I nodded desperately, wanting to follow his orders, "cum, _now." _

I fell apart with a silent scream. I could see stars with how hard it hit me. My pussy spasmed around him, coating him with my release. He kissed me, hard, and growled deep in his throat, sending another bout of shockwaves through me—it was so animalistic and possessive, and I loved every second of it.

"Fill me up," I demanded against his lips, "give it to me." I was bold, wanton and needy, and if I wasn't so caught up in the throes of passion, I would be embarrassed at how crass I sounded. He broke the kiss and went back to nuzzling against my throat.

"Mine," he growled, licking where my jaw met my throat, "_**mine,**_" I knew he was going to bite me, but I wasn't afraid this time—I found myself needing this from him. I tilted my head to the side to give him room, and he practically purred in approval.

He bit down, hard, sending us both into oblivion once again. His release shot into me hard and fast—I could feel it filling my womb and coating my walls, stuffing me so full until there was nowhere else for it to go but down my legs.

Jake licked where he bit me, soothing the irritated skin and lapping up the blood. I was surprised once again at the lack of pain. I was riding the afterglow, totally content, listening to him mumble 'mine' and 'mate' into my skin over and over again.

But then I remembered myself—how confused I was at how abnormal this was. I pushed him away, shivering when he slipped out of me. I slid off the counter and onto Jell-O legs, wobbling over to the toilet and sitting down on it once again.

With shaking hands, I balled up toilet paper and did my best to clean myself up. He grabbed a washcloth from the cubby over the toilet and ran it under some water. He went to help me clean up but I slapped his hand away. He looked wounded. I heaved a sigh.

"Jake, if you touch me anywhere near my lady bits, I'm not going to be able to focus on anything and we won't leave the house," my stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting my flow, "I'm _starving _and I really need some answers. You're refusing to give them to me, and quite frankly I'm _trying_ to be mad at you." I snatched the washcloth out of his hands and cleaned up the mess of my thighs.

"What does that even mean?" He huffed out, clearly amused.

"It means exactly what it sounds like. I'm _trying _to be mad. I mean, you bit me twice now and I can't seem to keep my hands off of you and you won't tell me _why." _I tossed the washcloth into the hamper and stood up on still-shaky legs.

I stumbled slightly as I started walking back to the bedroom. He reached out to catch me, but I caught my balance and shot him a look. I really couldn't handle him touching me right now. The energy was so palpable between us and I _wanted _him despite my anger and confusion. "Get dressed, we have to go. I can't focus."

"Aye-aye, Bells," he gave me a mock salute. I rolled my eyes at him, and went to my dresser to find some new panties, shorts, and a bra—my other ones were clearly ruined.

I slipped on a new pair of panties and a bra, throwing them on as quickly as I could to shield myself from his gaze. I wasn't going to fall back into bed with him until I knew what was going on. I had to fight the pull, and getting clothes on was the first step.

I threw on my shirt from earlier and faced away from him as I bent over in search of leggings in my bottom drawer, not wanting to look at his naked body for fear of falling into bed with him again. I heard him make an appreciative growl.

"I like you bent over like that," he said, voice low and gravely. I shivered, and immediately felt arousal pool low in my belly. I shook it off as best I could, and quickly pulled on my black leggings.

"Get dressed, we're leaving in five minutes," I said with as much authority as I could muster, "We have places to be, and food to eat." God, I really was starving. I heard him dressing behind me as I anxiously smoothed the rumpled sheets and blankets on my bed, and rearranged the throw pillows once again, trying not to let my mind wander too far.

—

Jacob's POV

I got dressed quickly, watching her straighten up the bed. She was clearly anxious, and I felt kind of bad about it. My lack of patience clearly didn't do her any favors. I wished I took the time to explain things to her when I imprinted on her last night. I couldn't feel fully guilty though, she was my mate, and my marks belonged on her—and they looked good on display.

However, I wished that she would let me get close to her again. The marks would heal quicker the more I licked them due to the healing properties in my saliva. They were angry red and sore looking.

I liked the idea of everyone seeing them and knowing she belonged to me, but I knew she would want to go out in public without looking like she'd been mauled by a wild animal. I finished getting dressed, and cleared my throat.

"We'll take my bike," I said, heading towards the door of her bedroom, "I just need to grab my jacket and keys and we can go."

"I think maybe we should drive separately, considering…" she trailed off, cheeks glowing red. I frowned, and my wolf snarled—refusing to be separated from our new mate for any amount of time.

"Absolutely not. We're taking the bike," I replied in my most authoritative voice, cutting her off when she tried to protest, "let's go."

Surprisingly, she didn't try to push it any further. She grabbed her cellphone off of the nightstand, and picked up the little backpack she tended to use as a purse, and followed me out the door of her room and down the stairs.

She walked into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a few more protein bars and my jacket, tossing me one before tearing open the foil wrapper of hers and taking a gigantic bite of it. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit-typical hungry Bella.

"What?" she asked around her mouthful. I just shrugged and pulled my jacket on.

"Nevermind, we have places to be," I grabbed her hand and practically pulled her out of the house in my haste to get out of there. I was eager to ease her mind...and maybe show her off to the pack a little bit. She locked the door, and slipped on that old, ratty pair of converse she kept by the front door.

I picked up the helmet that I had left next to the door the previous night, and pulled her down the porch steps, and over to the bike. I turned to her, and placed the helmet on her head. It was a loose fit, and while it was adorable, it wasn't safe. I tightened the chin straps to where it was snug.

"There, that's better. Keep that on. It's the only one I have, and if we're being honest, you're the more breakable one of us," I picked her up, smiling when she squealed in surprise, and sat her down onto the bike, climbing on behind her.

"Aren't I supposed to be on the back? I mean, I think that's how it works, but I don't know anything." I laughed and shook my head.

"If you weren't you, yes, but since you're Accident-Prone Bella, you're sitting up front where I can catch you if you fall. Or in any other sort of disaster scenario." She huffed out a laugh.

"Good point," she wrapped her little hands around the handlebars, "let's get this show on the road."

"One more second," I quickly unstrapped the helmet, pulling it off in one swift movement and guiding her face to mine, bringing her into a kiss that I hoped she'd be able to feel deep in her bones. She sighed and leaned into it. I sucked her lower lip into my mouth, giving it a nibble before releasing it. I reluctantly broke the kiss after a few seconds, knowing that I wouldn't be able to stop if we kept this up. She pouted at the loss, and I couldn't help but smile in return.

She lurched forward and placed a hard kiss onto my mouth. I kissed back for a moment, then pulled back and plopped the helmet back onto her head, quickly redoing the straps.

"There. Now hold on tight." I turned on the bike and kicked up the stand, immediately pulling out of her driveway and zipping down her lazy street and towards La Push.

Bella's POV

I squealed in delight as we zoomed down the street and into town-motorcycle's were really fun! I finally saw the appeal, and why people spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on these death-traps. I also had to admit that I didn't mind being this close to Jake. The town passed by in a blur, and before I even knew it, we were on the stretch of road that would lead us to La Push. Towards answers.

My heart was racing. What if I didn't like what I was going to hear? Once again I asked myself: _why can't I attract normal men? _My mind went into overdrive, wondering just what Jake was.

Vampire was out of the question—he was too warm, I could feel his heartbeat, and I've seen him gasping for air...and his eyes weren't golden or red. Plus he wasn't sparkling in the sunlight, which was the dead giveaway.

Demon? I mean he was hot enough, temperature-wise. But he was _Jake. _He was made of sunshine, good vibes—not a mean bone in his body. A demon certainly couldn't be the answer.

He couldn't be an elf or a fairy—he's clearly too tall. Slenderman? Sasquatch? Alien? Yeti? I was being ridiculous at this point. My ramblings were cut off when I felt that electric jolt go through my body again. I heard Jake's growl over the rumble of the bike.

_Oh boy. _I felt the need pumping through my blood again—so strong that it _ached. _My body was calling out to his, and I wasn't crazy to think that he felt it too.

In a flash, he pulled off onto the side of the road, driving his bike into the grassy area between the concrete and the woods. He kicked down the stand and turned off the bike, grabbing me and climbing off the bike almost immediately after the rumbling stopped.

He quickly unclipped the chin strap of the helmet and threw it on the ground and attacked my mouth with his in a flash. This kiss was all heat and passion—a wet frenzy of teeth and tongue. I wrapped my legs around his waist, grinding my core against him. He gripped me under my thighs and carried me off into the woods.

He placed me back on the ground in front of a large tree, and kneeled down, quickly sliding my leggings down. I whined, feeling the warm wetness of arousal pool in my center. He leaned forward and buried his face in my clothed mound, lapping at the damp fabric with a deep moan, as if this was giving him the same amount of pleasure it was giving drag of the damp fabric over my sensitive flesh was frustratingly good. It wasn't going to be enough to get me off, but it was a perfect form of sensual torture.

I found it kind of amusing that before today, I was a blushing virgin, and now I knew what would and wouldn't get me off with another person. This was all such a whirlwind, and something behind it wasn't quite human, but honestly...such was my life. Nothing was ever strictly going to be "human" for me again.

I heard the jingle of his belt buckle opening, and the zip of his fly—he was as impatient as I was. In a flash, his strong hands gripped the undersides of my thighs, and and pulled me up as he stood, walking the short distance to the big tree and pinning me up against it with his body. The bark was hard and unyielding against my back, but I craved the roughness. I loved being treated this way-not so much like a porcelain doll...the way Edward treated me the few times he wanted to kiss me with any sort of passion behind it. With Jake, I was a ragdoll-I could be positioned any which way without breaking.

He moved my panties to the side, and plunged into me without preamble. He started moving immediately, not giving me any time to adjust-not that I needed time, I was ready for him. I cried out, and held on tight to him, letting him take what he needed from me.

Jacob's POV

I just couldn't help myself-I had to have her again-Sam was once again going to have to wait. He'd understand, considering he's been through this himself, but he wasn't the most patient person. It would have to be quick-we could take our time later. I pushed into her quickly, groaning at the feeling. Oh _dear spirits, _she felt so good. Tight, warm, wet-it was almost _too _good. _Thank you, Taha Aki. _

I buried my face against the side of her throat, breathing her in and kissing her skin as I moved in and out of her body fast and hard. I tightly held onto her hips, pulling her closer to me with each thrust of my hips. Her pussy fluttered around my cock, making me hiss through my teeth.

"_Fuck me, _Bells, you feel so good," I managed to growl out, shivering at her answering moan, "feel so fuckin' perfect."

"Mmm, fuck, Jake, harder," she sighed as she clenched down around me, "M-more." I growled, deeper than I ever had before.

"Hold on tight." She locked her ankles behind my back, and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Good girl."

"O-oh," she sighed, her walls once again fluttering around me. I didn't think it was possible, but it seemed that she had grown even _wetter_...I smiled wolfishly and starting driving into her faster and harder than before.

"Do you like it when I call you a good girl, Bells? Like being my good girl?," she let out a keening whine, and fisted her hands into my hair. I kissed my way up to her ear, and bit down lightly on the lobe, chuckling at the pleasured cry that she let out. "You're being so good for me, Bells, taking me so well," I licked the shell of her ear, feeling my orgasm beginning to build. I slid my hand from her hip over to where we were joined, and quickly started rubbing the pad of my thumb over her clit. "Fuck, Bells, cum with me, 'm close."

She practically howled in response, pushing her hips into each thrust desperately. I kissed my way back to her throat, and bit down hard, marking her again and sending her screaming into her climax. I followed seconds behind with a low groan, cumming so hard that it almost _hurt. _

Embry's POV

I was patrolling in the woods, nose to the ground trying to sniff out any predators that could possibly be lurking in the woods when I heard a rather curious sound towards the main road that led from Forks to LaPush. It was the scream of a woman, followed closely by what sounded like a pained groan of a man.

_What was that? - Jared _

_I don't know, I'm gonna go check it out. _

_I'll head over your way just in case. - Jared _

_Okay. _

Slowly, I stalked towards the direction of where I heard the sound, maneuvering my way through the thick underbrush to where I had a good vantage point to see what was going on. I froze, swallowing a disgusted sound that wanted to tear its way out of my throat.

_Don't bother, Jared, unless you _want _to see Jacob bare ass fucking some chick on the side of the road._

Bella's POV:

After a few moments of calming down, he pulled out of me and gently sat me down on the ground. I readjusted my panties and quickly grabbed my leggings off the ground, shaking them off a few times just in case any creepy-crawlers decided to make their home in their while I was otherwise occupied. I slid them on, curious as to how my legs were still functioning-as wobbly as they were.

Once I had my leggings back on, however, my legs decided to turn into complete Jell-O, and buckled beneath me. Luckily, Jake caught me, and picked me up with a laugh.

"Come on, wobbles, let's go," I couldn't help but laugh at his quick wit, and crane my neck up for a kiss, which he gladly gave me-and then we were headed back to the bike, and towards answers...and hopefully food.

About 15 minutes later, we pulled up to a really nice cabin. It almost looked like a fairy-tale come to life. Each window had a flower box filled with orange and yellow mums. The front door was red, and all of the shutters were painted to match. The porch was spacious, with a swing and a few potted plants. It had a welcoming feel to it...and I smelled _food. _My stomach roared out its emptiness. My body needed to replenish its strength after all of the strenuous activity I had been up to.

Jacob chuckled as he turned off the bike, and helped me off of it before assisting me with the helmet. He grabbed my hand when he was done, and led me up the stairs towards the front door. He knocked twice, and then opened it, gesturing for me to go in first. I hesitantly stepped through the doorway, and was immediately met by a woman.

She was beautiful-tanned skin, and layered black hair that framed her face beautifully. Her eyes were almond shaped and dark, surrounded by thick lashes and light makeup. Her full lips were stretched into a genuine smile. The left side of her face was scarred, almost as if she were attacked by an animal of some sort, but it did nothing to fade her beauty.

"Hi! You must be Bella! Come on in, I've got some spaghetti on the table, you must be starving," she gently touched my shoulder and led me into the kitchen, where two bowls of delicious smelling pasta were waiting for us. My stomach growled once again, and she giggled, making me blush, "you probably need the carbo load anyways," she said with a knowing look and a wink. My blush had spread over the entire expanse of my body by this point. I heard Jake snort behind me.

"U-uhh," I didn't know how to respond, but she just giggled again, and ushered me to take a seat.

"It's nothing I haven't gone through with Sam. I'm Emily by the way. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on," she gave me an excited smile, and pulled out my chair for me, "Dig in! You too Jake," she turned away from us and faced the door, "Sam, baby, they're here!"

"Be there in a sec," called back the deep voice of who must have been Sam, "are Jared and Kim here yet?"

"Not yet, but Kim just texted that they'll be here soon." I found myself wishing that I had better dressed for meeting all of these people. I was so confused as to how this was going to answer any questions, but at this point I was too hungry to care.

I followed Jake's lead and sat down in the chair, and stared at the deliciously saucy bowl of pasta. My mouth was watering-I hadn't eaten in so long. However, it was rude to eat before everyone was at the table, so I decided to be polite and wait for the others, but my stomach growled again, loudly.

"Just dig in sweetie. There's plenty for everyone," Emily sing-songed with a smile. I didn't have to be told twice. I picked up my fork and went to town with gusto.

A/N: hey everyone, thanks for reading! Thanks to LittleDarlingDahlia for listening to my incessant rambling over my ideas for the characters and for this fic. Love you girl. Go check out some of her stories if you haven't already!


	5. 5

Chapter 5:

Bella's POV

I was so happy to finally be eating—and something better than microwaved crap. One bite had me moaning nearly as loud as any of the times I've had sex with Jake today.

Jake was looking at me with an amused expression, and Emily was clearly trying not to laugh.

"Looks like someone forgot to feed you," she teased, taking her own seat and grabbing the Parmesan cheese shaker, "shame on you, Jake." He just grunted in response, too busy wolfing down his food to be bothered to give a reply.

I swirled a copious amount of noodles onto my fork, and shoved it into my mouth, cheeks bulging with the savory noodles. Of course, that's when who I supposed was Sam decided to walk into the room.

Of course my mouth would be stuffed with carbohydrates the first time I met him.

He was a tall, hulking figure, with cropped dark hair, full lips, a chiseled jaw, and intense chestnut-colored eyes--all around very handsome. He was cut, with russet skin stretched taught over his muscles. He carried himself with confidence, and an air of authority. Whoever he was, he was important.

His bushy eyebrows shot up when he made eye contact with me, followed by an amused quirk of his lips.

"Sam, this is Bella. Bella, this is Sam. Come on babe, I made you a bowl already," Emily said, smiling up at him. He broke eye contact with me and leaned down over Emily, giving her a kiss on the top of her head before taking a seat next to her.

"Bella," he said in greeting, giving me a nod, and smiling a little wider as I struggled to chew and swallow the mess of noodles in my mouth, "I take it you like the spaghetti?" My cheeks were probably the same shade as the marinara sauce at this point, but I nodded as I swallowed the last bit of it down.

"Y-yeah, uh, sorry...I haven't eaten in awhile," I cleared my throat awkwardly and grabbed the glass of water next to my bowl and took a tentative sip.

"Don't be," he replied as he stabbed a meatball with his fork, "Emily made enough to feed a small army, so have as much as you want," he popped the meatball into his mouth and let out a pleased hum, "Amazing as always, babe," he said around his mouthful, looking at Emily with a look so loving that I didn't even know how to properly describe it. She returned that look tenfold with a smile almost as bright as the sun.

We all ate quietly. My bowl was empty far too soon, and I was still hungry. My stomach gave a pathetic little growl, and I felt my cheeks heat up again.

"I'll go grab some more for you, Bells," Jake said, standing up and grabbing my bowl, "be right back." I watched him as he disappeared into the kitchen. I felt strangely calm at being left with people I didn't really know. Sam and Emily felt oddly familiar, almost like the feeling you got when you sat down at the kitchen table with family.

"You have a lovely house," I told them, breaking the silence, and grabbing my drink. Emily beamed in response.

"Thank you! Sam built it for me--well, us really--pretty much right after we got engaged. I don't know how he kept it a secret for so long, but he did." She looked at him as if he had hung the moon and the stars, eyes soft with love. He looked right back at her with nearly the same expression. It seemed almost strange in contrast with his very masculine demeanor--but it suited him.

"Oh, wow, that's incredible Sam," I said genuinely, my heart warmed by how much these two loved each other, "that must have been quite the feat." Sam shook his head with a smile.

"It wasn't so bad. I own a construction company. The difficult part was designing it, really. I had to be sly and ask Emily questions about design without making it too obvious. That was hard because she's a smart cookie."

"I would have loved anything you built for me, silly," she grinned at him, resting her head in her hand, "but I'm glad this is the one I got."

Jake came back a moment later, and sat more food down in front of me. This time, I ate slower, and made pleasant small talk with everyone at the table as we ate. It was nice--I could really see myself becoming good friends with them.

Eventually, though, the curiosity and need for answers made its way to the forefront of my brain. I cleared my throat, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, well, thank you for the food and everything, but I'd really like to know about what's happening with Jake and I, and I guess you two have some answers for me?" Emily took a deep breath, and stood up, heading for the kitchen.

"This discussion requires wine," I tilted my head in confusion, eyebrows furrowed, "boys, I'll grab a few beers for you. I'll be right back." Sam cleared his throat, bringing my attention to him.

"Bella, how familiar are you with the legends of our people?" I remembered Jake telling me the stories about the shifters quite a while ago. The protectors of the tribe that turned into wolves in order to fight off the Cold Ones.

Oh.

How did I not connect the dots sooner? Those legends weren't legends at all--they were true stories. First vampires, and now shapeshifters? I was one hundred percent certain that after this revelation, nothing would ever surprise me again.

I was correct to think that Jacob wasn't exactly human. He was part man, part wolf. A werewolf? Was it okay to call him that?

"Okay, stop me if I'm wrong, but I'm gathering that your legends are true? Jacob is part wolf, and if I'm not mistaken, so are you?" Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Jake started laughing.

"I told you that she was smart, Sam," he said between bouts of laughter, "right on the money as always, Bells," he stopped laughing abruptly and looked at me in concern, "are you okay? You're not scared, are you?" I shook my head.

"No," I wasn't scared, just curious, "so do you turn under the full moon to fight off the cold ones, or…?" This time, Sam and Jake both laughed.

"No, we can turn at will. We aren't werewolves, we're shapeshifters--we just take the shape of wolves in order to fight off our enemies," Sam said, leaning back in his chair, "the only time we don't have any control is when we first start phasing. It takes time to learn to tame the wolf." I nodded, not even a little bit surprised at how my brain was rationalizing all of this.

"So you're basically normal humans otherwise?" I asked, lacing my fingers together and resting my chin on them.

"There's a few key differences, but yeah," Jake replied, "for one, we're much bigger than humans," I laughed a little bit at that response.

"That explains how you got that tall basically overnight. And the muscles." He gave me a smug grin and a wink in response.

"We also have a higher body temperature than the average human--we run at about 108 degrees. We have an advanced healing factor, and we have heightened senses," Sam added, taking another bite of his food, he chewed and swallowed, "and we don't age until we stop regularly phasing."

I liked knowing more about the shifters, but I was having trouble trying to figure out where exactly I factored in to this whole situation. I opened my mouth, about to ask, when I was interrupted by a new voice.

"We're here!" Quick footsteps made their way down the hallway, and a short, curvy girl appeared in the doorway. She was gorgeous--short and curvy, with long black hair that was all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were almond shaped, and hazel. Her makeup was flawless. She was intimidatingly beautiful. Her face broke out into a huge smile when she saw me, and she squealed.

"Oh, you must be Bella! You're so pretty oh my gods!" she clapped her hands together excitedly, "We're going to be good friends I can just feel it!" She dashed over to the open seat next to me, sitting down and facing me, "I'm Kim."

Her exuberance was palpable in the atmosphere around her. She was a lot all at once, but I couldn't help but find it endearing. I gave her a small smile in return, and was about to say it was nice to meet her when Emily returned with three glasses and a bottle of wine. A man lumbered in behind her, carrying a case of beer.

He was like all the other men in the room, gorgeous. He had unruly, brown spiky hair and narrow dark brown eyes. His skin was lighter than the others in the room, and he had a lean build. He smiled when he caught my eyes, and I immediately liked him.

"Oh! Bella, this is my man, Jared. Jared, this is Bella!" He nodded at me in acknowledgment.

"Nice to meet you, Bella. Sorry we're late. Miss diva here had to put on a whole face of makeup. That shit takes ten years to apply, babe, and you're pretty without it." Kim rolled her eyes at him. Emily snorted in amusement.

"Jared, it's Kim. What did you expect?" She laughed, pouring wine into the glasses.

"I told you already! I had to make sure to look my best, because first impressions count! I had to make a good impression on my new sister." My face twisted in confusion.

"Sister?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Jake cut in.

"We haven't gotten to that part yet, Kim," he said, reaching out and grabbing a full glass of wine and handing it to me before reaching over to grab himself a beer, "This is the part that will tell you why…" he trailed off, giving me a knowing and rather smug look.

"Tell you why you're boning all the time, and why he keeps biting you" Emily cut in, finishing the sentence for him. I didn't think that I could get any redder than I already was. I buried my face in my hands in embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed, Bella," Kim said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Emily and I have been through this, too." I was still embarrassed, but slightly less so. I took a sip of the wine--I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, I hadn't really drank before.

"O-okay," I stuttered out, cheeks still on fire, "so where and how do I factor into this equation?" I asked, looking at Jake expectantly.

"Well, as a sort of way of repayment for protecting the tribe, we are given the gift of imprinting," I nodded along with what he was saying, vaguely remembering the way ducklings imprint on humans if their mother isn't around to take care of them, "The imprint is a special bond between a wolf and his mate. The spirits connect us with a person who was made for us. It's a soulmate connection, Bells." My heart skipped a beat.

"So...you imprinted on me yesterday, didn't you?" He nodded, smiling softly at me. This was quite a lot to take in, but surprisingly, I wasn't put off by any of this information. I accepted it at face value.

"Kim is Jared's imprint, and Emily is Sam's," Jacob said, gesturing to them, "they'll be able to answer questions from the point of view of the imprintee." I nodded slowly, trying to process all of this. I was glad to finally have answers, and unsurprisingly, it all made sense.

"Our wolves here tend to like to repeatedly claim their mates for about a week or so. I remember by the end of that week with Sam, I wasn't able to walk for a while afterwards," Emily said, taking a drink of her wine, "the compulsion to constantly fuck goes away after the first week, but trust me, the chemistry never goes away." Kim hummed in agreement.

"It doesn't. It wasn't just my makeup that made Jared and I late," she waggled her eyebrows at me, and I couldn't help but laugh at her openness.

I turned to look at Jake, catching his gaze instantly. His dark eyes were full of warmth and affection, and his soft expression made me want to cry. Just by imprinting on me, he had given me so much. A family, a sense of belonging, and healing. I knew my place in the world was here, and that it was by his side.

That jolt of electricity flashed between us once again, and while it still brought about neediness, it was much softer this time. Jake let out a pleased rumble, making the others all laugh.

"We'll have to get to know each other better later, huh Bella?" Kim teased, making the others laugh once again, "I'm glad you upgraded from the leeches to the wolves." The whole room, myself included, filled with cacophonous laughter.

Once the laughter subsided, Jake stood up, and swooped me up into his arms, kissing along the column of my throat, making me squirm. I couldn't even find it in me to be embarrassed about this display of affection in front of the others. I wanted him.

"Uh, wait, Jake," Sam said, standing up and fishing around in his pockets, finding a set of keys and tossing them to me, "you guys have the cabin by the lake to yourselves for the week. Fully stocked with food and whatnot. Call us if you need anything." Jake growled in approval, and I gave Sam a quiet thank you. He gripped me closer to himself, and made his way to the door.

"We'll have a welcome bonfire at the end of the week," Emily called out, still laughing, "try not to be late, you two."

A/N: Look at that, some answers! I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

Shoutout to my bff and beta, LittleDarlingDahlia! Please go and check out her fics, they're really good!


	6. 6

Chapter 6

Jacob's POV

The drive to the cabin was essentially torture. All I wanted was to tear her clothes off and bury myself inside of her. I could smell her arousal, and my wolf was going crazy over it.

In a couple of minutes, we made it to the idyllic little cabin on the edge of the "lake" which was really just a small pond on the side of the Res nearest to Forks. I killed the power to the bike, and climbed off, grabbing Bella by the hips and lifting her off the bike and down onto her feet. She took the helmet off, and looked up at me with those big doe eyes of hers. I couldn't help but lift her up again, pressing a firm kiss to her lips. She sighed into my lips, and wrapped her arms around my neck.

We kissed for a few leisurely moments, simply enjoying the feeling of one another. The need was still there, but it was more subdued--there wasn't any more rush. Bella broke the kiss and looked me over, clearly thinking about what she was going to say next.

"I want to see you phase," she said, lightly scratching the back of my neck with her fingertips, "I believe all of this. It would be hard not to, considering we both know--well everyone here knows--that I've dated a vampire. It's only natural to believe in this as well. I just want to see it for the sake of seeing it. I want to see you." I smiled at her, and kissed her one more time before placing her back onto her feet.

"Okay, Bells." I smiled at her, and turned to walk into the woods.

"No," she said sharply, "I want to see it." My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Phasing was a strange and somewhat violent process. It didn't hurt anymore, not like it did the first time, but it still felt really weird, and it was difficult even for me to watch my pack brothers phase.

"Are you sure? It's not exactly pretty, babe." She rolled her eyes.

"I've seen someone track down, kill, and suck the blood out of a wild animal. I've also seen someone rip apart a vampire. If I can handle that, I can handle this." Touche.

"Alright then," I quickly stripped myself of my clothing, smirking when I saw her rake her eyes over my body. I caught a whiff of her reignited arousal. I wanted her, but I had to give her this experience. I willed myself to phase.

My body rearranged itself, my bones elongating and shifting into the proper shape. It wasn't a pretty sight, and it certainly didn't sound great either. Her face was composed for the most part—she only winced a few times. Mostly, she just looked fascinated.

Before long, the transformation was complete, and I fell, four paws, onto the ground. I shook out my fur, and sat on my haunches, waiting for her next move.

"You have a lovely coat, and your eyes are the same except for that gold ring around the iris," she murmured, verbally taking notes as she approached me without fear. She kneeled down in front of me, and ran her fingers through my fur—honestly it felt really good. "Does it hurt?" I shook my head in response, and she smiled softly.

She didn't say anything else, she just leaned into me, looping her arms arms as far around my neck as they would go. I rumbled happily, and licked the side of her face, making her squeal with laughter.

"Oh, gross," she laughed, playfully shoving me, "now I'm all slimy!" I nudged her with my head, gently in return. She smiled, and leaned up to kiss my furry cheek.

"Okay, this has been enlightening," she began, moving to stand up, "but come back and hold me, please."

I phased back, bones shrinking and going back into place. As soon as I was human again, I went to her and wrapped my arms around her. She burrowed her face into my chest, and I could feel her smile against my skin.

The surge of electricity returned, building between us again, stronger this time. I gave her a quick kiss, and nearly ran to my discarded pants, quickly fishing the keys from the pocket. I ran back to her, and quickly swooped her up bridal style, making her laugh breathlessly.

In a flash, we were up the porch steps and I had the door unlocked. I quickly locked it behind us, and made a beeline for the bedroom. I tossed her onto the bed, and pounced, hovering over her body. She whimpered, gripping onto my shoulders and pulling me down to her for a kiss.

It started out slow and soft, but quickly became nearly savage in its intensity. Our teeth nicked each other as our tongues tangled, my hands were lost in her hair, pulling slightly. My cock was pressed against her center, and I could feel how wet she was through the fabric.

I needed her naked. I needed inside of her. I growled, low in my throat, and pulled back. She whined at the loss, and reached for me.

"Strip," I demanded, climbing off of her and hauling her up, "I need to be inside you, Bella." She shivered at my words, and got off the bed and onto shaky legs.

Bella turned away from me, and slowly started taking her hoodie off. After what seemed like an eternity, it was up and over her head, then discarded onto the floor. She did the same with her shirt. My wolf was growing, impatient as well—snarling and ready to break through.

She looked at me coyly over her shoulder, and I lost it. I was up and off the bed in seconds, grabbing her roughly and dragging her to me. She cried out, giving a half-assed struggle which was clearly for show, I appreciated it. I tore her bra off, ripped her leggings open, and tore her panties to shreds. I leaned down to where my mouth would be close to her ear, and I growled, low in my throat.

Bella's POV

His growl in my ear was so low and deep that I could feel it vibrating in his chest, and it really did unspeakable things to me. Wetness trickled down my thighs, and an almost unbearable heat coursed through me.

"You think it's funny to tease me, huh?" I shivered at his tone, rubbing my thighs together to try and relieve some of the building pressure. "Not a good idea, baby, unless you want me to bend you over and fuck you so hard that you'll forget your own name and not be able to walk for a couple of days." A grin spread across my face.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" I asked him teasingly, hoping that he'd do exactly what he said he was going to do. He damn near snarled in my ear, and it was one of the sexiest things I've ever heard in my life.

"You bet your ass it's both, baby." Before I could register what was happening, he picked me up and threw me onto the bed, immediately climbing on top of me. He kissed me so hard that it almost hurt. He pulled away suddenly, and fisted my hair, pulling my head back so that I was forced to look up at him.

He looked absolutely feral. His dark eyes were nearly black with his arousal, and the golden eyes of his wolf flashed around the edges. I squirmed, knowing that I was pinned under such a strong and dangerous beast of a man. He grinned, seemingly liking the reaction he was pulling out of me. I had no other option but to submit. I tilted my head back further, and bared my throat to him.

With a roar, he plunged into me in one solid thrust, immediately setting a brutal pace that had me screaming. He gripped my hips so tightly...if they weren't already bruised, they certainly were now.

"Is this what you wanted?" he snarled in my ear, "to get fucked?"

"Fuck, Jake, yes, ohmygod," I held onto him as tight as I could, honestly just trying to survive the onslaught of his passion. My nails raked down his back hard enough to break the skin, and it only spurred him on.

In one fluid movement, he rolled us so that I was on top, and somehow he didn't slip out of me. I tentatively rotated my hips, getting used to this new angle, and soon came to realize that it was amazing. He gripped my hips, and lifted me up and off his cock to where only the head was inside, and slammed me back down over and over again. I was sobbing with pleasure at this point, so close to flying over the edge.

One of his hands left my hip, and slid down to my swollen clit. Just one circle with the pad of his thumb sent me screaming into my release. My juices flowed out of me, surrounding his cock and making the glide of his movements within me even smoother. I was spent, and I went limp in his hold. He flipped us over again, his sweat dripping down onto me, still pumping into me hard, using me for his own pleasure, grunting in his exertion.

"Bella, fuck," he panted out, "tight, need…" he trailed off, too far gone to find any more words.

"T-take me," I whimpered out, once again baring my throat to him.

I felt him swell within me, and with a roar, he sank his teeth into the soft flesh of my throat, sending me into another orgasm. He gave a few more sharp thrusts, and eventually pulled out of me, flopping onto the bed beside me. We laid there, catching our breath for several minutes.

"Fuck, I think my soul might have left my body," Jake said with a breathless laugh, "that was--"

"Incredible," I cut in with a breathless laugh of my own, "I didn't think I was going to survive that...but if it's going to be that good, I should rile you up more often." I turned to look at him, finding that he was already looking at me.

He rolled onto his side, and gently cupped my cheek, stroking it with his thumb. He leaned in and brought our mouths together once again, setting off fireworks and butterflies in my stomach.

We lazily kissed for awhile after that. There wasn't any sexual fire behind it--we were simply enjoying the company, and feel of one another. Eventually, we parted, smiling at one another softly.

"Are you sore, Bells?" he asked me, a slight amount of concern flashing over his features, "I wasn't exactly gentle with you...like at all today." I took a moment to take inventory of all of my muscles, and while I was sore, it was only a pleasant amount of pain.

"A little bit, but it's not bad," I responded with a smile, "however, I can't feel my legs." He gave me a cocky smile in response, followed by a saucy wink.

"I guess I did my job right, then," he kissed the tip of my nose and shuffled his way to the edge of the bed, "I'm going to run us a bath, I'll be right back." I watched him as he disappeared into the ensuite bathroom, admiring the view.

I could definitely get used to that.

—

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's kind of short, but that sex scene kinda makes up for it...maybe I'm tooting my own horn about it but I'm proud of it.

Shoutout to my girl LittleDarlingDahlia for helping me with this and dealing with my lack of sleep kookiness. Love you girl. Go check out her fics, they're all good!!! If you want to binge read, for sure go check out Exposed.

I'll bring you more later! Thanks so much for reading!


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